


This Is Us (ON HIATUS UNTIL 2018)

by edith681



Category: Original Work
Genre: Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-24 10:09:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10739541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edith681/pseuds/edith681
Summary: When Rebecca's parents move her family out to the tiny town of Almonte, she thinks it's going to stink. Until she meets somebody.





	This Is Us (ON HIATUS UNTIL 2018)

"So lemme get this straight," Rebecca said, frowning and crossing her arms. "We're moving from the grand, amazing city of Ottawa into a bigger house in a tiny town called Almonte that I've never even heard of just because you're having another baby?"

"That's correct," said Kyle, her father.

"Exactly," said Lia, her mother.

"Hooray! Tiny little town!" Grace, her 4 year old sister, clapped her hands. Then she continued playing with her blocks.

"Hmph," grumbled Rebecca.

"Oh, come on, Becca, it'll be a fun adventure," said her dad.

Becca looked at her mom, then at her dad, then at her little sister, then back at her dad. Then she sighed.

A small smile crept across her face. She unfolded her arms and put them behind her back instead, rubbing her left foot against her right.

"Only for you, dad," she said, her smile spreading wider. "Okay. I'll go."

Rebecca's parents hugged her and she hugged them back, and Grace clapped her hands again.

"Yay!" she cried.

 

***

 

June 18, 2014

"Well, that's the last box," said Kyle, slamming the trunk shut.

"I don't think the movers are quite finished yet," said Lia, looking towards the moving truck, where the two movers were still piling boxes and furniture into the truck.

Rebecca and Grace were sitting on the bare floor, leaning against the wall. Rebecca had leant her sister her cell phone to keep her busy, which had a few games on it that she knew her sister would like to play, and a Wi-Fi connection that was still present in the house. Rebecca had a book to read by her favorite horror author, Dean Koontz.

All of a sudden, Grace put Rebecca's phone in her left hand.

"You have a call," she said.

Rebecca quickly stuck one of her headphones into her right ear and pressed answer.

"Hello?" she said.

Caitlyn, her best friend, was on the other end.

"Hey," said Caitlyn. "How much longer until you have to go? Can you come by my house and see me?"

"Mom, can I go see Caitlyn?" asked Rebecca.

Her mother looked towards the moving truck, where the movers hadn't even made a dent in the furniture and boxes they were supposed to be packing into the moving truck, not to mention her parents were still working on packing the last few boxes.

"Sure," said Lia. "It'll be another hour or two at least."

"I'll be right over!" said Rebecca excitedly in response to Caitlyn's question.

"Can i come?" Grace asked, tugging on her sister's sleeve.

"Is that your little sister?" asked Caitlyn.

Rebecca sighed. "Yes. Yes, it is."

"She can come too if she wants."

"Uh...really?"

"Well, of course. She's as much my friend as you are."

"Oh, well, then I guess she can come."

Grace caught at least a foot of air. "Yippee!"

"We could use the space," said Lia.

"And the quiet," said Kyle with a chuckle.

"Uh, we'll be there soon," said Rebecca, then hung up. "I'll get my little sister out of your hair, then." She took her sister's hand. "Come on, Grace."

Grace pulled away from her sister and hurried away down the street, with her sister running after her.

Caitlyn lived only a block away, and they'd been there a million times before, but still, Rebecca didn't let her younger sister out of her sight.

They made it to Caitlyn's house in no time at all. Grace did what she always did; went right up to the door and started knocking and knocking until Caitlyn answered the door, no matter how much her sister told her to stop.

Caitlyn answered the door. She giggled at the sight of the girls.

"I thought it sounded like you guys were here," she said. "Come on in!"

"Yippee!" cried Grace, rushing right inside.

"Grace!" cried Rebecca.

Caitlyn let out a small laugh. "It's okay," she responded.

"Hey, it's great to see you before I have to leave. Promise you'll visit?"

"Of course! It's not that faraway. Why don't you come on inside?"

"Good idea. I need to keep an eye on my sister."

Rebecca walked inside and Caitlyn closed the door behind her. It was pretty dark inside, and Rebecca squinted her eyes to try and see.

"Why is it so dark in here?" asked Rebecca.

Caitlyn flipped the light on. Rebecca looked to her left, then a bunch of her friends, including her sister, jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!"

 

***

 

"Huh?" asked Rebecca.

A.J. jumped up over the couch and headed over to her friend. "This is why Caitlyn called you and asked you to come over. We're throwing you a goodbye and good luck party. I mean, obviously we're going to stay in touch, and of course we'll visit."

"But we just couldn't let you go without giving you some kind of sendoff party," said Max.

Rebecca looked around at her little sister and her four friends-Shaun, the only boy in the group, Maxine, or Max for short, Abby Jordyn, or A.J. for short, and Caitlyn, her bff and obviously host of the party. And of course, her adorable little sister, who was now hugging her leg.

"Alright, cutie pie, you can let go," said Caitlyn.

Grace let go of Caitlyn's leg. "This party was a great idea!" she squealed excitedly.

"Come on, let's have some cake already!" said Max, getting impatient.

"You got a cake?" asked Rebecca, looking over at her friends.

"Of course!" said A.J. "What kind of ridiculous party would this be without a cake?"

"We got your favorite chocolate with chocolate icing," said Shaun.

"Shaun, that was supposed to be a surprise!" said Caitlyn.

"Whoops, sorry." Caitlyn and the girls watched him blush and started laughing. Shaun smiled and his blush turned redder.

"While we're spoiling surprises, we also have pizza," said Max.

With a smile still on her face, Caitlyn rolled her eyes and shook her head, then joined the rest of the group in a laugh.

"Well, I'm hungry," said Shaun. "And that pizza isn't gonna stay warm and fresh forever."

"So let's eat already!" said Rebecca. "I mean, what are we waiting for? Right?"

"Hooray for pizza!" said Grace excitedly.

A.J. brought out the three large pizzas from the kitchen. Then they ended the meal with dessert; chocolate cake with chocolate icing but vanilla roses around the edges dyed purple, and chocolate ice cream.

Rebecca and Grace and their friends thoroughly enjoyed the party, but alas, it could not last forever. An hour and a half after the party started, Rebecca got a text from her parents.

Hey, girls, the truck is packed. We better get a move on. Time to say goodbye and come on back home.

Be there real soon, Rebecca texted her mom back.

Rebecca sighed. "Sorry, guys, party's over. Grace, we have to go."

"Awwww!" cried everybody.

"Sorry, Grace. Sorry, guys."

"Don't apologize," said A.J.

"Yeah, we knew you were moving today," said Shaun.

"Okay, everybody line up for hugs!" squealed Grace.

The kids opted for a group hug instead, to save time.

Everyone called out their goodbyes at Caitlyn's front door as Rebecca walked away, holding Grace's hand.

The two sisters turned around and waved goodbye to their friends.

When they got home, the movers were just putting the last few boxes into the truck. Lia unlocked the car for the kids. Their dad climbed into the front to get the car started. He put the key in, started the car, turned on the air conditioning and the radio. Rebecca opted to listen to music on her phone instead. Grace got very excited, yelled, "Woo-hoo!" and zipped into her seat on the right side of the car in the back.

Rebecca smiled and shook her head at her little sister, getting into the car beside Grace. Her father slid into the driver's seat, and her mother climbed in beside him.

"Seatbelts, everyone!" cried Grace, imitating Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus, one of her favorite shows at the time.

"Are we ready?" asked Kyle.

"I think so," said Lia.

"I guess so," said Rebecca, slight hesitation in her voice.

"I am so!" cried Grace excitedly.

Their father drove off and Rebecca watched the house become smaller and smaller until they took a left turn and the house disappeared entirely. She sighed and faced front again. Her phone began to play Fireflies by Owl City, the personal ringtone she had set. She checked it and found one message from her friend Caitlyn.

Miss you already.

Miss you too, Rebecca texted back.

Grace bounced eagerly up and down in her seat.

"Are we there yet?" she asked.

"Not quite yet," said Lia.

"How bout now?" Grace asked no more than 15 seconds later.

Rebecca smiled. "No, Grace."

"Oh," said Grace quietly.

20 seconds later, Grace started up again. "Now are we there?"

"Nope," said Kyle in a slightly irritated voice.

Rebecca laughed at her little sister. "Hyper down, nutball. We've only been driving for about ten minutes. We'll be there before you know it."

"But I do know it," said Grace in an irritated voice.

"Don't worry, kiddo," said Kyle. "We'll be there in a little while."

"I can't believe we've only been on the road for ten minutes," said Grace. "It feels like forever."

"Hey," said Rebecca. "What about if I tell you a story?"

Grace nodded eagerly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Just nothing scary. "

"The one I'm thinking of isn't scary," promised Rebecca. About a year ago, she had told her little sister a story that was kind of scary, and Grace had had nightmares for almost three months afterwards. She didn't want to make the same mistake again.

"Can you tell it to me?" Grace asked, sliding a little closer to her sister.

Rebecca smiled. "You bet." She put her phone in her pocket.

"It's about-"

"What's it called?" asked Grace.

"Oh, yeah. Right," said Rebecca. "It's called 'Grace On the Magic School Bus."

Rebecca watched her younger sister's eyes light up.

"If you close your eyes, I bet you can envision it," suggested Rebecca. Grace had a very vivid imagination, so her older sister knew that it would be very easy for her to imagine the story as she was telling it.

"It all started on a very warm day..." Rebecca began.

She told her sister a few stories-Grace and the Magic School Bus, Grace and the Teletubbies, Grace and Squidward-Friends Forever. Grace loved watching Spongebob, and even though she disliked Squidward's bad attitude, there was just something about him that she couldn't explain that made him her very favorite character.

Rebecca made Grace save Squidward's life, and after she did, his attitude changed, and they spent plenty of time together.

As soon as Rebecca said "The end," her father was pulling the car into a driveway of a large, two-story house.

"We're here," said Lia.

Grace didn't wait a second. She grabbed her door and flung it open. She ran up to the house, took out her key, which everyone in the family had one of, and ran into the house. Lia had her door open and yelled "Grace, shoes!" after her daughter.

Grace kicked her shoes off and just stood there, looking around for a moment. Her mother came in behind her and picked up Grace.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked.

"It's big!" cried Grace.

"It's got two floors!" Rebecca exclaimed excitedly. Their last house, the house they'd lived in since their parents had gotten married, was a bungalow, and Rebecca and her little sister had both always wanted an upstairs bedroom.

"It's wonderful," said Kyle, kissing his wife on her cheek.

"It's perfect!" the whole family said.

"So," said Lia,"there's one bedroom on the bottom floor, which is the room we're going to turn into a nursery for the baby."

"The other three rooms are upstairs," said Kyle. "Me and your mom will have the master bedroom."

"Obviously," the girls said in unison.

"And you two can have upstairs rooms," said Lia.

The girls shared in an excited "Yes!" and high five.

"And everyone has a walk-in closet," added Kyle.

"Yes!" the girls cried again.

"Dad, this move was a great idea," said Rebecca.

"I'm glad you're happy," said Kyle.

"Very," said Rebecca and Grace together.

The parents shared a kiss, and their daughters exchanged a smile.

 

***

 

June 22, 2014

Rebecca had her headphones on when her father knocked on the door, so she didn't hear him knocking or calling her name. Rebecca was writing down all the stories she had told Grace on the way to the new house as well as she could remember them.

Her father opened the door. That was when she finally realized his presence. Rebecca looked up, took her headphones off, and said "Oh. Hey, dad, what's up?"

"Come on, Rebecca!" Grace yelled from downstairs. "Hurry up!"

"Hurry up for what?" wondered Rebecca aloud.

"We're going to walk around and look around. You know, explore the new neighborhood. You want to come?"

"Sure."

Rebecca grabbed her hat and followed her father downstairs.

"Yay! Rebecca!" cheered her little sister.

Rebecca slipped her shoes on, helped Grace tie her shoes, and then the family left.

The town was only 1.70 square miles about, so they could easily walk around the entire town in 30-45 minutes. The family lived at 33 Richey Street, so their first stop where they wanted to go was the Almonte Potters Guild. Then they headed farther up the street to Mac's Convenience Store, where their father offered to buy the girls each a little treat. The girls each picked out some candy. Grace got a package of licorice, and Rebecca picked a package of Reese Minis. Everyone in the family got a soda, except for Grace, who was too young for soda. Instead she got an orange juice.

As the family was walking out of the store, a small group of teenagers, about five, were going in. Rebecca looked at their backs for a short moment, but in that moment, one of the boys turned around, caught eyes with her, and flashed her a smile, showing her his white teeth. Rebecca smiled a tiny smile back, then turned around and hurried to catch up to her family.

Their next stop was a small store called Keepsakes Flowers and Gifts. Rebecca was looking at some of the cards they sold when Grace walked up beside her, smiling up at her sister.

"Are you gonna buy something for that boy you smiled at?" she asked.

"Pfft, no," said Rebecca, rolling her eyes. "I was thinking of getting a card for my friends back home, that's all. I don't even know that boy's name. Besides, I'm sure he was just smiling to be polite. He probably thought I was some kind of creep, staring at him like that."

"But you're not a creep. Maybe he just needs to get to know you better."

"Yeah, maybe." Grace knew a lot for a four year old. Rebecca sometimes wished she didn't know as much as she did. She often thought that her sister was too smart for her own good.

Grace disappeared from her sister's side, but was soon back. Rebecca was still looking at cards and gifts, wondering what to send her friends back home. Grace tugged on her sleeve.

"Hey, Grace," said Rebecca.

"Rebecca," said Grace.

"Yeah," said Rebecca, looking inside one of the cards. This would be perfect for Caitlyn, she thought. After all, Caitlyn always told her friends not to give her money. Rebecca decided to buy the card. She already had two cards for Shaun and Max, but she still had to buy a card for A.J.

"There's a tea set over there. I want to buy it. Can I have some money?"

Rebecca sighed. "Can't you ask dad?"

"He might say no. Besides, you have lots of money."

"Yeah, but not to spend on you. I'm saving up for something really important."

"Like what?" asked Grace.

"I don't know yet," said Rebecca in a dreamy voice.

"A present for a boy?"

"Who knows," said Rebecca, shrugging. "Go ask dad."

Grace went to ask her father, and was pleasantly surprised when he gave her the money.

Kyle and Lia didn't start giving Rebecca an allowance until she was 5 years old, and were not going to start giving Grace an allowance until she was 5. They made it clear that she was always welcome to ask them for money, as long as she understood that sometimes they might say no. Every week from her 5th birthday they had given Rebecca $20 per week. She had spent 10 and put 10 away in her savings account. She didn't have to. She knew she was welcome to spend it all, but she wanted to save half of it. So $10 a week for almost 10 years (she was almost 15) had been put into her savings account. She didn't know what she was saving up for but she would figure that out later. Her little sister would probably blow through her money in a few minutes.

If Rebecca wanted something bigger, she would either ask for it for her birthday or another holiday, write it on her Facebook page and maybe her parents would surprise her with it, or simply ask her parents for it.

It was a 50/50 rate. Half the time her parents would go ahead and buy it for her, half the time they would say "Put it on your (whatever holiday was coming up) list."

For Rebecca and little Grace's parents, there was no such thing as a presentless holiday. For them, every holiday was worthy of presents. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, even Martin Luther King day.

Usually when her parents went ahead and bought it for Rebecca, it was because it was rare, and/or they hadn't seen it before and/or they didn't know when they would see it again. Or it would normally be expensive, but it was on sale for a much more reasonable price.

Rebecca finished picking out cards for all her friends, and they went up to pay. Grace paid for her tea set first, and Rebecca promised her sister they would play tea party the very next day. Rebecca paid for her cards for her friends.

The family moved on. They stopped at a place called BH Photography to print some pictures to hang in the house, along with some picture frames.

It was almost 5:30, so the family decided to start looking for a place to eat. So they started heading back first, turning from Bridge Street onto High Street. They didn't find a restaurant, but they did find the Almonte Public Library.

The family went back onto Bridge Street, and continued looking for a place to eat.

They found a restaurant called Almonte Riverside Inn and Kitchen. After they had eaten dinner, the family headed home.

•••

Rebecca had settled down only a few minutes ago, turning off her lights and snuggling into her bed, when her door creaked open. She sat up in bed.

"Rebecca," she heard her younger sister whisper from the doorway.

"Come here, Grace," said Rebecca quietly, patting her bed and lifting up her blanket.

Grace carefully closed Rebecca's bedroom door as she headed into her sister's room. She climbed into Rebecca's bed beside her.

"Everything okay?" Rebecca asked her little sister.

"I can't sleep."

"What's going on?"

"I thought I saw a monster in my closet."

"Oh, Grace, you're so silly. But there's really no such thing as monsters."

"Really?"

"Really. There's really no such thing."

There was a long moment of silence. Then Grace sighed. "It's too quiet here. There's hardly any noise at night. I miss the noise of the big city."

"I'm sure you'll get used to it."

"Mm-hmm," said Grace with a yawn.

"See you in the morning, Grace," whispered Rebecca as her little sister fell asleep by her side.

 

***

 

June 28, 2014

Grace heard a knock at her bedroom door.

"Come in!" she said.

Rebecca opened the door and came into her sister's room. She had a bright smile on her face and was fully dressed, which Grace thought was odd for her older sister, especially because of the early morning hour. Usually during summer vacation her sister didn't even get up until noon, at the earliest. She stayed up really late, and slept in a ton.

"Rebecca? What are you doing...already up and dressed?"

"I could ask you the same question," Rebecca said.

"Saturday morning cartoons." Grace pointed towards her TV where Spongebob Squarepants was playing.

"Oh. Right. Of course." Rebecca looked embarrassed for a moment.

Grace giggled. "I'm not even dressed anyway. I'm assuming cartoons are the same reason you're up. I mean, what other reason could there be?"

"As much as I love watching TV with you, Grace, I actually have another reason for why I'm up. I asked dad, and he said it was okay. Come on out so I can show you."

It was true. Usually Rebecca got up early on Saturday mornings to watch TV together. It was a great tradition they had shared every Saturday morning for almost 2 and a half years now.

"Um, Rebecca, while I would love to see what's got you so excited, could we possibly, maybe, perhaps, um, wait until a commercial break."

"Sure thing," said Rebecca, taking a seat beside her little sister on the bed. She was starting to get into the show when a commercial came on.

"So what is it?" asked Grace, as she followed Rebecca outside.

"It's a surprise," said Rebecca with a small smile. "You'll see in a minute."

When they got outside, Grace saw the surprise. It was one of the large foldout tables that the family had, and taped to the front of the table was a large, colorful sign that said, "LEMONADE, 50¢ A CUP," in all capital letters. Sitting on top of the table was a large plastic jug full of lemonade and ice cubes, and beside the jug was a bunch of plastic cups, all stacked neatly. Behind the table was two large chairs for the girls to sit on.

"It's a lemonade stand!" Grace exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah. It's a summer activity we can share together. We can share the fun and the profit."

"Alright!" cried Grace, jumping into the air. "Let's get to it!"

"Now? But what about Spongebob?"

"Whatever, I've already seen that episode. Besides, this looks like fun."

"Okay. You should probably go back in there and turn off the TV first."

Grace ran inside and came back out a minute later. "Ready to go!" she cried excitedly.

"Okay." Rebecca flipped down another sign that said "Open" in colorful, capital letters. Grace bumped back into her chair. Rebecca went back inside to grab two bottles of water. When she closed the fridge, her mom was standing there.

"Oh!" exclaimed Rebecca, jumping a bit. "Mom, you scared me."

"Sorry, sweetie. Did you show your sister the lemonade stand?"

"Yeah. We're running it right now. That's what these are for," Rebecca replied, holding up the two bottles of water.

"Well, alright then, honey, I won't keep you. I'll let you and your sister get back to work."

"See ya later, mom," said Rebecca, and went back outside to the stand.

"Here you go, I got you this," said Rebecca, handing her sister a bottle of water.

"Becca, listen to this!" Grace picked up the coffee can that had a slit cut in the lid (a homemade piggy bank) and shook it. It jingled a little bit.

Rebecca took the coffee can from her sister. "Did you make a sale while I was gone?" She opened the can to look at the earnings.

"I actually made three. A woman came along with her two ten year old sons and they all bought a cup."

"Good job, Grace!" Rebecca congratulated her sister. "Let's see if we can make some more."

"I just have one more idea," said Grace. "I'll be right back."

Grace went into the house and came back a few moments later with her trash can.

"Made another sale while you were gone," said Rebecca, shaking the coffee can.

"Cool!"

Rebecca looked down at Grace's trash can. "That's a pretty good idea."

"Thanks," said Grace. "Now people can throw their empty cups away. Got a few here already." She dumped the cups into the trash.

All of a sudden, a boy came barreling around the corner. He was wearing a red cape and a superhero mask, and he couldn't have been any more than 6 years old.

"Lemonade!" he cried as he ran, and as he tried to put on the brakes, he ended up losing his footing and falling on his butt.

Grace giggled. "You okay?"

"Yeah," said the boy, getting up and laughing a little himself. "I just saw your lemonade stand and got thirsty."

"Would you like a glass?" Rebecca asked, gesturing to the lemonade. Grace grabbed the jug and a cup and poured the boy a cup of lemonade while he took 50 cents out of his pocket. He handed the girls the money and drank down the ice cold delicious lemonade.

"Thank you," said the boy.

"Thank you for your business," said Grace, smiling at the boy.

"What's your name, buddy?" Rebecca asked the kid.

"My name is-"

"Caleb!" yelled a teenage girl. "Caleb!" she called out.

"Casey, I'm over here by the lemonade stand," called Caleb.

"There you are." Casey walked over to the lemonade stand. She took her little brother's hand. "I swear, I can't turn my back on you for a second. You were supposed to stay in the park." Casey started brushing dirt off her brother's butt. She turned to the girls. "I am really sorry about this. Caleb's only six years old, and he's a little bit of a handful. Did he cause any trouble?"

"No," said Rebecca. "He just had some lemonade."

"You cannot just go running off like that without telling me," said Casey. "Hey, are you guys new around here? Because I haven't seen you before," said Casey.

"Yeah, we just moved in like 2 and a half, three weeks ago," said Rebecca.

"Oh, my gosh, that's so cool!" said Casey. "I live across the street, a few doors down from you."

She pointed across the street a few doors down to the right.

"Right there. See the white door with the purple flower on it? That's where I live."

"Wow. Yeah, I see it. So where exactly did the flower come from?"

"Oh, well, my mom painted it. She's single, and she's an artist. You should see what she did on the inside."

"That would be great. You seem nice."

"So do you. Hey, can me and Caleb run the lemonade stand with you guys?"

"Oh, um, I don't mean to be rude, but me and Grace don't really want to four way the money."

"You don't have to do that," said Casey. "All I ask is that you give me and my brother all the free lemonade we want."

"You know what? It's a deal. Sounds good. I'm Rebecca and this is my sister, Grace. Welcome aboard."

"I'll get the chairs," said Grace.

She then came back carrying a chair, and her mom (Lia Aimes) was behind her, also carrying a chair, and they put the chairs down, then Lia went over to meet Casey and Caleb. She shook both their hands.

"Hi, I'm Mrs. Aimes. You must be the kids who are going to help my girls with their lemonade stand. It sure is nice of you to help out like this."

"Thanks, Mrs. Aimes. I'm Casey Hall and this is my brother Caleb."

"Alright, I'll leave you kids to get back to work." Lia left and went back inside the house.

The hours dragged by. Caleb and Casey drank a lot of free lemonade, which ended with several bathroom breaks over the time. Luckily, Casey and her brother were allowed to use the bathroom inside the Aimes household. The kids made some more sales. They ran out of lemonade and had to get more from the fridge.

Finally, around 5:00, the kids decided to wrap it up. Casey had to take her brother home for dinner. She had of course, called her mom and let her know where she and Caleb were. The kids were getting tired. Grace and Casey started bringing the chairs inside when a boy was walking by and stopped at the stand.

"Lemonade, huh?" asked the boy. "Hey, didn't I just see you last week? I think I did. I was going into the diner and you and your family were leaving."

"Yeah, that's actually funny."

"That is funny. So, can I have a cup?"

"Um, Rebecca, me and my brother have to get home. Same time tomorrow?"

"Sure," said Grace. Rebecca nodded. "See you tomorrow."

"So, how about that lemonade?" he asked.

"We're actually just closing up here," said Grace. "Come back tomorrow."

"The sign says you're open."

"I think we can get you a glass," said Rebecca.

"But we're closed," said Grace in an irritated voice, crossing her arms.

Rebecca poured the boy a cup of lemonade.

"It's nice to meet you, Rebecca. I'm Cameron," the boy introduced himself.

"Good to meet you," said Rebecca. "Here's your lemonade."

The boy drank it down quickly.

"Wow," said Grace. "I've never seen anyone suck anything like that."

Cameron started laughing.

"How's that funny?" Grace looked at Cameron, confused.

"It's funny because it actually means two things. You see-"

"Cameron, stop!" Rebecca quickly interrupted. "That'll be 50 cents."

"Hang on a sec." Cameron tossed the cup away. He looked at Rebecca for a second. Then he started running.

"Hey!" Rebecca shouted after him. "You have to pay for that!"

Rebecca watched Cameron disappear around the corner.

 

***

 

Author's note: I made a small mistake and now I wrote chapter three twice. Anyway, enjoy the real chapter 4.

"So, how did it go?" Rebecca's dad asked his girls at dinner.

"Yeah, don't keep us in suspense," said their mother. "How much did you make?"

"Eight dollars and two new friends!" cried Grace excitedly.

"It should've been eight dollars and fifty cents, but this boy came over at the end and drank the lemonade and then ran away."

"He didn't pay," put in Grace.

"Pretty much." Rebecca put another mouthful of spaghetti into her mouth.

"Oh, well that wasn't very nice of him," said Rebecca's mother.

"That's pretty much a crime," said her father. "Isn't that basically stealing?"

Rebecca's fork fell down beside her plate with a clatter. "Guys!" she snapped. "Can we not talk about this?"

"Okay," said her mother quietly.

Her father smiled across the table at her. "Sure, honey."

Grace just put some more pasta in her mouth.

"Sorry," said Rebecca quietly.

Her mother smiled at her, reaching out for Rebecca's hand and squeezing it. "It's okay," she said.

•••

July 3, 2014

Casey and Rebecca were inside Rebecca's house, watching some TV. Mom, dad, and Grace were at Chuck E. Cheeses for the afternoon, but her parents said that Casey could come over.

"Celtfest tomorrow," said Casey suddenly.

"What tomorrow?" Rebecca gave Casey a confused look.

"Celtfest. It's like an Almonte festival thing. This year its July 4, 5, and 6."

"Sounds like fun."

"Me and my family are gonna be there. You should get your parents to bring you and Grace to the festival."

"Sounds like fun. I'll ask them tonight."

•••

Rebecca and her family were sitting at the dinner table when Rebecca put down her fork.

"Mom, dad, can we go to Celtfest?" she asked.

"Daddy, what's Celtfest?" Grace asked.

"It's this festival that's going on over the next few days. It's July 4, 5, and 6."

"Sounds like fun," said her mom.

"Yeah," said her dad. "We could probably check that out."

"Yay!" Grace bounced up and down in her chair.

•••

July 4, 2014

Grace jumped on top of Rebecca. Rebecca groaned.

"Come on, Rebecca!" she cried. "Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up."

"I'm up," grumbled Rebecca.

"Well, hurry up. Come on, get dressed. It's Celtfest."

"Oh. Right, yeah," said Rebecca, rubbing her eyes.

"Come on. Hurry up and get dressed. We'll be downstairs."

"Sounds good," said Rebecca with a yawn, closing the door behind her sister.

•••

"What do you two want to do first?" Rebecca's mom asked. She had brought her girls to the festival, and they were looking around trying to figure out what to do. The girls' father was staying home because he had to work on his new book.

"It looks like they're putting on a puppet show over there!" Grace got excited. "Can we go see it?"

"Mom, can we find Casey first?" Rebecca asked.

"How about me and your sister go see the puppet show and you go find your friend?" suggested her mom.

"Sure. I have my phone in case we need to call each other." Rebecca held up her iPhone. "Can I have some money for lunch?"

"Alright, here's $30," said her mother, handing her some cash. "You can buy yourself some food and one souvenir."

"Okay, mom. Thanks." Rebecca started to walk away.

"Hey, Becca!" her mother called. Rebecca paused and looked back.

"Put it in your purse so you don't lose it. And I want change!"

"Okay, mom. See you guys later." Rebecca went off to find Casey and Grace and her mom started heading towards the puppet show.

•••

As Rebecca was walking around, she texted Casey.

Where are you?

She heard something ring right in her right ear, and jumped and then turned around. Casey started laughing, then took the phone away from Rebecca's ear.

"That is so not funny," grumbled Rebecca, even though she had a big smile on her face.

"It was to me," said Casey.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "I can see that."

"Come on," said Casey, and started to walk away. Rebecca followed.

 

**NEU-on or before June 1**


End file.
